We are suffering from our silence, says Bishop Adeoye
An Osun based cleric, Bishop Seun Adeoye has declared that Nigerians are currently suffering from their unusual silence about government policies considered to be unpalatable to their wellbeing.
Bishop Adeoye of Sufficient Grace and Truth Ministry (SGTM), Rehoboth Arena, Okinni, Osun State in a statement on Monday, January 30, 2017 explained that Nigerians have been too quiet when their rights were being tampered with by those in authority.
He said, “Maybe we are doing this out of fear or ignorance but I think we need to speak out against all policies we know will negatively affect us. If we voted those in government into power, they also have responsibility to hear us out.
“The other time, price of petroleum was increased by President Muhammadu Buhari from N87 to N145. We accepted it. Today, prices of goods have risen astronomically and we are crying. That is the price we must pay for our silence. When fuel price was raised, didn’t we know it will affect other things?
“Unfortunately, we can’t even speak with one voice. We think of party affiliation, religion or our tribe not minding what befalls the generality of all us”, he stated.
The clergyman who held a one man protest against the increase in fuel pump price insisted that Nigeria’s democracy is being threatened as the government at the centre “is using everything to gag the voices of oppositions”.
“Judiciary is the third arm of government. Yet, our government chose judgment to obey. Yet, we keep mute as if we are running an authoritarian regime. The so-called human rights activists have gone into the air. Hitherto, pressure groups such as NLC, TUC, NBA, and NMA among others are currently pleasure associations.
“The only haven for all now is to drum support for President Buhari and his party. Those who hold contrary views from those in government are being treated as enemies of the state and are being chased around by security agents.
“The other day, I was visited by armed policemen at my residence in Osogbo. Today, Apostle Sulaiman is a guest of the State Security Service (SSS) for telling Nigerians to defend themselves against attacks. I encourage all of us to speak out against this evil going on in our country. I plead with the media not to keep quiet”, the cleric noted.
He added that the nation’s political class has taken the citizens for granted for too long just because Nigerians by nature are people who endure hardship.